Meaning & Origins

Biblical name (meaning ‘man of God’ in Hebrew), borne by one of the archangels. Gabriel appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament (Daniel 8:16; 9:21), and in the New Testament to Zacharias (Luke 1:19; 26:27) and, most famously, to Mary to announce the impending birth of Christ (Luke 1:2). Used only infrequently in the 20th century, Gabriel has recently found favour as a given name in the English-speaking world, and is now sometimes bestowed on girls.

Spanish (García) and Portuguese: from a medieval personal name of uncertain origin. It is normally found in medieval records in the Latin form Garsea, and may well be of pre-Roman origin, perhaps akin to Basque (h)artz ‘bear’.